I chose this topic because I believe phonics and phonetics are a key component for teaching both children and adults to learn multiple languages. An understanding of phonics is not just a vital tool in both child and adult ESL classrooms, but high school and university level foreign languages classes as well. Traditionally, phonics and phonetics are not an integral part of Second Language (SL) curricula. I believe this poses disadvantages on students who might fair better if phonics and phonetics were established as part of the general curriculum, particularly synthetic phonetics. This page outlines some key ideas that support his philosophy.
THE TOP 5 THINGS I LEARNED
Standing out just a bit more than all the others. These are the top five bits of information I learned from my research.
1. Sounding Out Letters
Sounding out letters feels very natural to us because that is how we are often encouraged to read when we are young. This is a form of teaching synthetic phonics. In my own experiences with SL classes, a strong focus on phonetics and repetitive phonics have always been lacking. These classes focus primarily on control of grammar while leaving the mastery of vocabulary and pronunciation more on the student for independent study.
2. Enhanced Awareness
When phonetics are introduced to foreign language students, it doesn't always necessarily solve all problems with pronunciation. It does however give the student a enhanced awareness on the aspects on the particular language's speech. Especially with synthetic phonetics, students learning English associate meaning by stringing together individual sounds that make up on complete word. This can convey a much deeper meaning than associating meaning with a particular word. Students begin to understand that certain letters are pronounced a certain way because of their relationship to other letters in the word.
3. Phonics in the Curriculum
Teaching students rhyming words (ex. may, lay, pay, hay, play) will help them distinguish between important sounds. Even in languages like French where English speaking students often find themselves battling the subtle variances in pronunciation the phonics curriculum can help. Understanding that some words rhyme can help students sound out letters and find deeper meaning in words.
4. Variety of Speakers
Listening to a variety of speakers can help you to key in on certain sounds that may ultimately convey a greater meaning. Suggestions would be to change instructors each term. Understandably, this is far easier said than done. Schedules, class availability, the number of teachers on staff, all have an effect on how students choose their instruction. However, changing teachers give you a different sound to listen to, especially if you have limited access to native speakers in your area. This is most a problem with learners of European languages like German or French.
5. A Child's Mind
Children have brains that are more adept to learning multiple languages. As the adult brain develops it becomes more difficult to create new synapses that establish natural language skills and the ability to be fluent. While it's impossible to make your brain the same it was when you were three years old, I theorize that teaching an adult with child appropriate methods would yield more positive results compared to traditional classroom and textbook methods. Simple worksheets that ask you to spell common, and sometime overused, words can help embedded concepts into a student's mind.
RESOURCES
1. Here's an interesting YouTube video that talks about specific methods that work best for teaching adults English as a Second Language. I like this video because it's short but gives you a good general overview of some of the potential challenges of teaching ESL.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 3 out of 5
2. This link is a very valuable resource from The Higher Education Academy. It's a very detailed article that stresses the importance of pronunciation teaching in Second Language classrooms.
ALTERNATIVE LEARNING METHOD THAT COULD HELP STRUGGLING STUDENTS!
3. In this video Bonnie Terry shows a very conventional method for helping her Special Eduction students master auditory closure and visual closure. Teaching pronunciation and phonetics may be a demand to teachers outside of Second Language classrooms.
There may be a type of student that traditionally struggles in foreign language classrooms. Just as some people aren't Math People or Literature People, some people really aren't Second Language People. This could have a lot to do with the way SL curricula are usually structured and the fact that there is such a large diversity of learners in a class at any given time.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
4. Rhyming words that have no meaning can help students master the languages. According to Albert Valdman in his book on French phonology and morphology, a "striking feature of native control of language is the ability to produce an infinite number of sentences from a finite stock of elements and rules of combination of these element and the converse ability to understand an equally infinite number of sentences which other speakers of the same language may produce."
5. I really like this source because it reflects on a study done on students not in the United States. Even though this study doesn't necessarily pertain to adults, the principles are still the same. If students focus on phonics and phonetics they will have a deeper meaning of the words and therefore a deeper understanding of the language.
6. I like this source because it shows some actual methods of checking yourself. This man isn't afraid to over pronounce the letters to show the emphasis. I particularly like the method of putting your hand over your mouth to check the amount of air you are using.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 4 out of 5
7. "The words are able to be decoded by the learner, and once the learner can blend the words they are REAL reading." This is an interesting video found on YouTube about Synthetic Phonics. This type of phonics learning focuses on blending sounds together rather than giving overall meaning to a single word. I like how Debbie is very set in her ways, she stresses certain importances not just is the content but its method of delivery as well.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
8. This was one of the more amazing sources I found. It shows an instructor working with adult learners rather than child learners. Most often new methods are devised for child learners. This video shows some altered methods because adults need to learn differently. The setting is more like a business class, more mature; with the participants standing and interacting a lot more with their work.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
THE ALWAYS POPULAR HOOKED ON PHONICS
Since the late 1980's Hooked on Phonics has been a staple in household reading learning. Though this product was widely popular, it's use in school never became sensible. It was for most of it's tenure as a popular learning tool, offered at a price of $49.99. It may have been difficult for schools to fund and maintain a program like that.
THE TOP 5 THINGS I LEARNED
Standing out just a bit more than all the others. These are the top five bits of information I learned from my research.
1. Sounding Out Letters
Sounding out letters feels very natural to us because that is how we are often encouraged to read when we are young. This is a form of teaching synthetic phonics. In my own experiences with SL classes, a strong focus on phonetics and repetitive phonics have always been lacking. These classes focus primarily on control of grammar while leaving the mastery of vocabulary and pronunciation more on the student for independent study.
2. Enhanced Awareness
When phonetics are introduced to foreign language students, it doesn't always necessarily solve all problems with pronunciation. It does however give the student a enhanced awareness on the aspects on the particular language's speech. Especially with synthetic phonetics, students learning English associate meaning by stringing together individual sounds that make up on complete word. This can convey a much deeper meaning than associating meaning with a particular word. Students begin to understand that certain letters are pronounced a certain way because of their relationship to other letters in the word.
3. Phonics in the Curriculum
Teaching students rhyming words (ex. may, lay, pay, hay, play) will help them distinguish between important sounds. Even in languages like French where English speaking students often find themselves battling the subtle variances in pronunciation the phonics curriculum can help. Understanding that some words rhyme can help students sound out letters and find deeper meaning in words.
4. Variety of Speakers
Listening to a variety of speakers can help you to key in on certain sounds that may ultimately convey a greater meaning. Suggestions would be to change instructors each term. Understandably, this is far easier said than done. Schedules, class availability, the number of teachers on staff, all have an effect on how students choose their instruction. However, changing teachers give you a different sound to listen to, especially if you have limited access to native speakers in your area. This is most a problem with learners of European languages like German or French.
5. A Child's Mind
Children have brains that are more adept to learning multiple languages. As the adult brain develops it becomes more difficult to create new synapses that establish natural language skills and the ability to be fluent. While it's impossible to make your brain the same it was when you were three years old, I theorize that teaching an adult with child appropriate methods would yield more positive results compared to traditional classroom and textbook methods. Simple worksheets that ask you to spell common, and sometime overused, words can help embedded concepts into a student's mind.
RESOURCES
1. Here's an interesting YouTube video that talks about specific methods that work best for teaching adults English as a Second Language. I like this video because it's short but gives you a good general overview of some of the potential challenges of teaching ESL.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 3 out of 5
2. This link is a very valuable resource from The Higher Education Academy. It's a very detailed article that stresses the importance of pronunciation teaching in Second Language classrooms.
http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/408#toc_0
I found this source surfing Google
I give it a 5 out of 5
ALTERNATIVE LEARNING METHOD THAT COULD HELP STRUGGLING STUDENTS!
3. In this video Bonnie Terry shows a very conventional method for helping her Special Eduction students master auditory closure and visual closure. Teaching pronunciation and phonetics may be a demand to teachers outside of Second Language classrooms.
There may be a type of student that traditionally struggles in foreign language classrooms. Just as some people aren't Math People or Literature People, some people really aren't Second Language People. This could have a lot to do with the way SL curricula are usually structured and the fact that there is such a large diversity of learners in a class at any given time.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
4. Rhyming words that have no meaning can help students master the languages. According to Albert Valdman in his book on French phonology and morphology, a "striking feature of native control of language is the ability to produce an infinite number of sentences from a finite stock of elements and rules of combination of these element and the converse ability to understand an equally infinite number of sentences which other speakers of the same language may produce."
Nonsense Rhymes: http://www.pbs.org/parents/rogers/theme/1756_t_act.html
I found this source surfing Google
I give it a 5 out of 5
5. I really like this source because it reflects on a study done on students not in the United States. Even though this study doesn't necessarily pertain to adults, the principles are still the same. If students focus on phonics and phonetics they will have a deeper meaning of the words and therefore a deeper understanding of the language.
I found this resource on slideshare.net.
I give this a score of 4 out of 5.
6. I like this source because it shows some actual methods of checking yourself. This man isn't afraid to over pronounce the letters to show the emphasis. I particularly like the method of putting your hand over your mouth to check the amount of air you are using.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 4 out of 5
7. "The words are able to be decoded by the learner, and once the learner can blend the words they are REAL reading." This is an interesting video found on YouTube about Synthetic Phonics. This type of phonics learning focuses on blending sounds together rather than giving overall meaning to a single word. I like how Debbie is very set in her ways, she stresses certain importances not just is the content but its method of delivery as well.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
8. This was one of the more amazing sources I found. It shows an instructor working with adult learners rather than child learners. Most often new methods are devised for child learners. This video shows some altered methods because adults need to learn differently. The setting is more like a business class, more mature; with the participants standing and interacting a lot more with their work.
I found this source on YouTube
I give it a 5 out of 5
THE ALWAYS POPULAR HOOKED ON PHONICS
Since the late 1980's Hooked on Phonics has been a staple in household reading learning. Though this product was widely popular, it's use in school never became sensible. It was for most of it's tenure as a popular learning tool, offered at a price of $49.99. It may have been difficult for schools to fund and maintain a program like that.